Aussie Bloggers

When I first started reading about blogs and finding out what the heck they were, Loobylu was one of the first blogs I found via the Weblog awards website in 2004. I know when it was because not long after I started my own blog.

I was immediately drawn to her style of writing and her content and have stuck around ever since. About a year ago she stopped writing on her blog and I’m sure I’m not alone to have missed checking in. Recently, however, Loobylu started up again so I decided to ask the person behind Loobylu - Claire Robertson - to answer a few questions for me.

I really want to thank her for agreeing to this.

How long have you been blogging and why did you start?

I have been blogging since the end of 1999. I started because I was working in web design and playing with lots of ideas and things which would never suit any of our clients sites so I was publishing bits and pieces to my own website and the blog just became an extension of that – it was so wonderfully easy and satisfying to create a personal space on the web. I liked the control and the ease and instantaneous nature of web publishing. I liked the sudden community that popped up from all over the world and all the good feedback.

How did you come up with the name Loobylu?

I can’t really remember why I liked the name Loobylu. I was looking for something anonymous to blog under and searching through children’s rhymes. I have a notebook which has some of the alternatives jotted down and I look back and am amazed that the domain names were actually available for some of those words!

You had a break for a year or so recently after the birth of your second child. Did you miss blogging more than you thought you might?

No – in fact I missed it far less than I thought I would. Loobylu and being part of a blogging community seemed to have been a part of my identity for so long I thought I might suddenly feel all at sea but in fact it was just a kind of peaceful absence. It was nice not to have that buzz in my head all the time, I am sure you know what I mean; “oooh, I could blog that…” or “if I do this, it would be great to blog about” etc.

In the end I decided to start up again because I just suddenly felt like I had something to say again. I have come back with a different focus and I needed that time away for that to happen. It’s less about family detail now, and more about… well, anything but, really.

I love the illustrations you do on your blog. They are quirky and distinctively you. What do you use to create them?

I have been using a mixture of Photoshop and Illustrator for a long time – almost 12 years when I think about it. At the moment I think I am going through a bit of a style change - I am playing with lots of stuff away from the computer– using brushes and ink, spray paint and oils and so on.

Illustration by Claire Robertson

Slightly related to the last question, did you create the illustration (as seen below) on the Freelance Switch blog?

Freelance Switch website

No – that’s not me!

I asked this question because it really reminded me of Claire’s work. What do you think? See Claire’s folio.

You also do lots of other crafty things. What’s your favourite?

I guess making things with fabric. I haven’t done much in a while but there’s something very satisfying when making something for my children with fabric – toys and quilts and all the things which give them lots of pleasure. The craft blog community has been like a big lovely squishy family for me over the last five years. I wish I could keep producing lovely things at the rate so many of those fine bloggers do – it’s a true inspiration.

About two years you started the Kiddley.com website – a site for parents about activities and products etc for their kids. Are there any plans to resurrect this?

I think I was slightly insane when I started Kiddley. I put it down to “nesting” hormones as I was 37 or 38 weeks pregnant when we started it up. Some people do up a nursery, I start up a new kid-related blog. Nuts I tells ya. But no, there are no plans to start it up again – it was just too time consuming. It’s hard enough maintaining one blog and other creative pursuits let alone sweating over producing new content for that one. And it really was “producing” content. We had this idea that we would come up with the activities, do the activities with our kids, photograph or illustrate the activities and then write it all up in tutorial form.

I see you have a ukulele. I’m a bit partial to them myself. Do you play?

Not yet! I have been searching Youtube for “how to” clips – but right now I am concentrating on breathing down my daughter’s neck while she practises the piano. I am learning vicariously through her. I am really not musical at all but it would be fun to play something.

I can tell you Claire that learning to play the ukulele is pretty easy and very fun.

Go and visit Loobylu. Not only does she create some beautiful stuff, she manages to find other people’s great stuff as well.